Only for you, part 2
by Suzanne D. Coldfeather
Summary: The evolution of Shepard's and Liara's relationship.
1. Chapter 1

_Briefly, this is a continuation of my previous story, Only for you (originally entitled part 1). I must apologise for leaving the story hanging for all those years, but I am looking forward to concluding it. Hope you enjoy it! And please, if you get a chance, let me know what you think. _

Only for you, Part 2.

Chapter 1

She remembered when she woke up, in pain and alone.

_Always __alone, _she thought morosely, as she kicked off her boots and lay on the bed and sighed, the day had been long and trying.

She remembered the voice urging her to get off the bio bed and arm herself. She remembered the shock she felt when they told her that she had been dead for the better part of two years. That and the fact that she was now working for Cerberus, chilled her to her very core.

_With, _she corrected herself harshly,_ you are working with Cerberus, not for them._

She had not enjoyed her meeting with the Illusive Man and she had liked the fact that he was manipulating her, even less.

She had felt something akin to joy when she saw Joker, but she knew in an instant that he had changed, become more withdrawn, his voice had lacked the youthfulness and joyfulness she remembered.

_But he is two years older than the Joker you remember, _she reminded herself, again. _ Time changes people,_ she consoled silently, in an effort to fill the dull ache in her heart, that her resurrection had left.

He had approached her with something like trepidation, fear almost. But when he showed her the new Normandy, proudly pointing out the SR2's new features to his silent comrade, he was in that fleeting moment, the Joker of old, and she had almost smiled at his enthusiasm.

She remembered snippets of her previous life.

_Because that is what it was_, she mused to herself, as she adjusted the pillow behind her head, in an attempt to get comfortable. The stateroom, _T__he Nest_, she mentally corrected herself, was massive in comparison to the one she had on the SR1.

But just snippets, her short term memory seemed to be a little hazy, she remembered Saren and the Citadel. She could recall her time on Mindor with amazing clarity, right down to the smell of her fathers blood and his cold dead stare. She remembered the Blitz and all that had entailed. She just had some difficulty remembering the last few days of her previous life.

The Cerberus woman,_ Miranda_, Shepard reminded herself, had said it was because she had woken up before she was fully repaired.

_Repaired, _she thought angrily,_ like I am some sort of machine._

She had instantly disliked the woman and her cold superior attitude.

She had tried to get Joker and then Chakwas to fill her in on what had happened, but they had stonewalled her. Chakwas had even went so far as to gently explain that it would be better for her mental health, if she remembered on her own.

Joker had just looked shifty.

She traced one of the angry scars on her face and sighed. Even they were alien to her now. Results of the invasive surgery which she had undergone, without her consent.

Half the crew looked at her in awe, the other half with suspicion.

She had defied the odds during the Blitz and on the Citadel and here yet again she was doing the impossible. She had died but now, in spite of this, she was rushing off to face an unknown enemy, with an untried crew, in the clutches of one of her greatest enemies.

_Not like a little thing like death, can stop the Great Commander Shepard_, she thought sarcastically.

She sighed again and shook her head, wincing a little at the pain she experienced as a result of the poorly healed scars.

_Maybe they should have left me dead._


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Freedoms Progress was not what Shepard had been expecting, it was cold and dark. And the air had a murky quality to it, she would almost say it was smoke but there was no sign of a fire anywhere.

Miranda Lawson came up beside her and looked at the Commander. Shepard felt as if she was briefly being assessed by a superior officer and then dismissed as inadequate.

Miranda looked around at the surroundings.

"Strange" the Cerberus operative commented, as if she was talking about the weather, "no signs of damage, no bodies, no signs of battle" and then she shrugged, as if this was all to be expected.

Shepard made her way through the interlocked housing containers, pausing now and again to survey her surroundings. An abandoned meal on a table, a knocked over chair, an unused bed, all lead her to believe that the colonists had been interrupted in the middle of their daily routine. The scene had a sickening familiarly to it. The two colonies may have been light years apart and the atrocities separated my decades, but the scene resonated deeply within her and for an instant she was overwhelmed with the pointlessness of it all.

She eventually came to a large metal door, she looked at the locking mechanism and shrugged, she could easily get through the lock. Miranda walked up beside her, looked in her direction briefly and then keyed the lock. The door ground open.

"Loki mechs" Jacob shouted, immediately taking cover beside Miranda who had not felt the need to shout out the obvious.

Shepard hunkered down behind some crates, quickly checking her M3 predator heavy pistol as she did so. She was about to open fire, when she was once again hit by a wave of despondency.

_Why bother_, she thought, _it all ends up the same anyway, regardless of what I do. _

Seconds later the mechs, along with two Fenris mechs were dispatched. Miranda cast the Commander a strange look.

"Are you okay, Shepard" she demanded, eyeing the commander with a clinical eye.

Shepard bristled at the demand.

"Fine" she said sharply, without meeting the operatives gaze, "move out" she ordered quickly, before Miranda had a chance to say anything else.

"They should have recognised us as human" Jacob observed.

Miranda just nodded in his direction, still watching the Commander as she sifted through the remains of the Fenris mechs, before walking away disinterestedly.

Miranda shook her head, wondering what was wrong with Shepard.

_None of her psych profiles showed anything like this,_ she mused as she made her way over to yet another locked door, _and her previous actions didn't indicate any sort of reconstruction defect_, she thought as she remembered the efficiency and power the commander had displayed at the space station when she had woken up.

The door ground open. Jacob and Miranda immediately brought their weapons to bare on the Quarian's inside the room.

_Typical,_ Miranda thought to herself, _like vultures_, she concluded in disdain, as she trained her weapon on the nearest Quarian.

"Prazza, no" one of the Quarians shouted as they rushed forward, " I told you that I would handle this"

"They're Cerberus" Prazza hissed, as he continued to point his weapon in Miranda's direction.

Much to Miranda's annoyance, Shepard pushed her way to the front of the group, her pistol grasped loosely in her hand by her side.

"I said I would handle this" the Quarian said again, as they placed their hand on the muzzle of Prazza's weapon and firmly pushed it towards the ground.

Prazza seethed at this, but obeyed the unspoken command.

The Quarian looked at the three humans in front of her. Her breath caught in her throat when she rested her eyes upon Shepard.

"Wait" she said hoarsely, "Shepard?" she asked in disbelief.

Shepard stood looking at the Quarian in front of her.

_Tali_, her mind whispered in relief, _Tali was here._

Prazza clearly having had enough of the other Quarian, especially since she was now faced with her old commander, who appeared to be working with Cerberus, brought his weapon to bare again.

"I am not taking any chance with Cerberus operatives" he said angrily.

"Put those weapons down" Tali barked, she turned her attention back to Shepard.

"Is that you?" she asked wondrously, "you're alive"

"Yeah" Shepard said, giving Tali a small grin, she couldn't believe the relief she felt at seeing Tali, "it's me, Cerberus rebuilt me" she explained, casting a quick glance in Miranda's direction to see if the operative had picked up on her choice of wording, "in return I am investigating the attacks on human colonies"

Behind Tali, Prazza laughed a little.

"You'll pardon us for not taking you at your word, Cerberus"

"I am not Cerberus" Shepard bit off angrily, she could feel the relief at having seen Tali seeping away, as she began to realise who had her six and in what direction their weapons were pointing.

"We are well within our rights to investigate an attack on a human colony" Miranda said, crossing her arms in front of her chest and fixing Tali with a glare, "I would like to know what the Quarians are doing here" she demanded.

Tali turned towards Prazza.

"Weapons down," she ordered sharply, seeing that Prazza was about to argue she quickly continued, "what ever is going on here, I don't think we need another fight" she fixed the Quarian marine with a glare until he obeyed her.

Then she turned her attention back to Shepard.

"We are looking for one of our people" she explained, "his name is Veetor, he came here on pilgrimage"

Miranda bristled at the lack of respect that Tali was showing her. That response should have been directed at her, not Shepard.

"Isn't that a little strange" Shepard asked curiously, completely oblivious to Miranda's seething, " a Quarian coming to a remote human colony?"

"As you know" Tali said, tilting her head to the side, in an effort to better see her former commander, she couldn't quiet believe that Shepard was standing here in front of her, "Quarians can choose where they go on pilgrimage" she shrugged and paused for a second, " Veetor liked the idea of helping a small settlement, he was always nervous in a crowd."

Again Prazza laughed angrily.

"What she means is that he is unstable. Combine that with damage to his suits CO2 scrubbers and an infection from an open air exposure and he's likely delirious"

Tali glared back at Prazza and for a moment Shepard found herself wondering what a glare from Tali would actually look like.

Tali turned away from Prazza and sighed.

"When he saw us landing, he hid in a warehouse at the far side of town." she paused, clearly wondering if she could trust Shepard, " and we suspect that he reprogrammed the mechs to attack anything that moved."

Shepard nodded in Tali's direction, happy that the woman had decided to trust her.

"Well" Miranda said, "that explains why the Fenris and Loki mechs attacked us" she looked at Shepard and again back at Tali, "we'll take it from here" she announced.

Tali looked desperately at Shepard.

"We need to work together" the Commander said slowly, as if not sure of her decision, "Veetor is the only person who can tell us what happened here" she said more decisively.

"Good idea" Tali said with relief and no small amount of confidence, Shepard marvelled at the change in her, "you'll need two teams to get past the drones, anyway" she finished, tossing the last remark in Miranda's direction.

"Now we are working with Cerberus" Prazza demanded incredulously.

"No Prazza" Tali said sharply, "you working for me" she turned to face the other Quarian, "if you can't follow orders go wait on the ship"

Jacob marvelled at the young Quarian, he had expected this is what Shepard would be like. But so far she was not living up to this expectations. He looked at Miranda and could clearly see the displeasure on the operatives face.

Tali looked first at Miranda and then at Shepard.

_Keelah,_ she thought to herself, _what are you doing with these people, Shepard._

Tali had no great love for Cerberus and she knew that Shepard didn't either, she could clearly remember the joy the Commander had taken in destroying their bases.

"Head for the warehouse through the centre of the colony" she told her former commander gently, for some reason she was afraid that if she raised her voice to the woman would break, "We'll circle around the far side and draw off some of the drones to clear you a path"

Shepard considered the plan for a second before nodding.

"Make sure to keep in radio contact" she said tentatively.

"Will do" Tali said with a decisive nod, "see you on the far side"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The two teams began to move out. Miranda immediately took the lead and began to clear a path towards the warehouse in which Veetor was holed up.

Eventually they came to the work yard in front of the warehouse.

"The door is sealed" Tali informed them over the radio, "be advised, there are heavy defences in this area" she warned, just as a Ymir mech rumbled into view.

Before Shepard had time to react, several Quarians attacked the mech and were mercilessly cut down. Their light infantry weapons and armour no match for the mass accelerator ammunition and heavy armour of the mech.

"Prazza, no" Tali cried desperately over the comm when she realized what her companions were doing.

Shepard looked on apathetically at the massacre being carried out in front of her, unable to show any emotion at the senseless deaths of the Quarians. She knew in times gone by she would have been incensed at such unwarranted death and destruction. But right now she just couldn't bring herself to care.

_Everyone dies,_ she thought coldly, _what's the point in getting upset about it._

She watched as Miranda and Jacob attacked the mech, firing and using their biotics, while they succeeded in slowing it down somewhat, it was clear to Shepard that they were no where near destroying it.

Sighing, she levelled her heavy pistol and waited until Miranda had it in stasis. Once she was certain, she stood up out of her cover and fired. A perfect head-shot.

"Get down" she yelled at the other two, as the mech began its tell tale systems overload, alerting Shepard immediately to the fact that it was about to explode.

Seconds later there was a bright blinding flash. Shepard saw her shields flash blue as a piece of shrapnel bounced off it.

"You need to aim for the head when using light weapons" she told them when they turned to look at her.

"Why the hell didn't you duck" Jacob asked in a voice that was some where between awe and worry.

"Outside the blast range" Shepard replied with a shrug.

Jacob was about to say something else, but a steely glare from the commander told him not to push it. But he was almost certain that Shepard was lying.

"As much as I enjoy our conversations" Miranda said acidly, a little irked that Shepard was giving her combat advice, " we really do have to find that Quarian"

Shepard ignored her for a second and touched her hand to the side of her helmet, an unconscious gesture which she had picked up during her early training, whether or not she did this made no difference to the quality of the transmission.

"Tali" she said gently, "your people.."

"I know" Tali replied, the anguish clear in her voice, "they wanted to get to Veetor before you"

Tali left the implications of the statement hanging in the air. But Shepard knew what she meant.

"Understood" Shepard said softly, "I am sorry" she whispered.

Tali on the other end of the transmission wasn't sure if she heard correctly and chose to ignore the last part of the conversation.

"Come on" Miranda said impatiently as she marched towards the door.

Shepard nodded and followed Miranda, but at the last minute she lightly brushed the Cerberus operative aside and keyed the locking mechanism.

Miranda frowned in irritation and silently vowed to have a few words with the commander once they were back on the Normandy.

The door opened slowly and without a hitch.

Shepard was greeted by a wall of vid screens, as her eyes adjusted to the dim light she became aware of a lone Quarian sitting in front of them.

She could make out his incoherent ramblings about monsters, swarms and his fervent hope that the mechs would protect him.

She walked into the warehouse and slowly approached the agitated Quarian.

"Veetor" she said kindly, almost tentatively as if she was afraid that the Quarian would disappear, although logically she knew that this could not happen.

"No Veetor" the Quarian said hysterically, "not here," he said shaking his head in agitation, "swarms can't find. Monsters coming. Have to hide" he said with increasing hysteria, as his fingers flew rapidly over the holo keyboard interface.

Shepard could not help but sympathize with him. She knew what it was like to see an entire colony wiped out and to be the only one left.

She extended her hand in the Quarians direction, in a subconscious attempt to console him.

"No one's going to hurt you anymore" she said reassuringly.

The distressed Quarian ignored her, entirely engrossed in his task and caught up in his own personal nightmare.

"I don't think that he can hear you anymore" Jacob offered after a few minutes.

Miranda huffed in irritation, she disliked being held up in this manner. Out of the corner of her eye Shepard saw Miranda reach for her pistol, instantly she knew what the Cerberus operative was about to do.

"No" she said sharply, knowing that Miranda would know that it was directed at her.

In surprise Miranda stopped mid action, allowing Shepard enough time to activate her omni-tool. In one fluid motion Shepard shut down the vid screens in front of Veetor, cutting him off mid rant as he looked in confusion at the blank screens.

With a shake of his head, Veetor stood up and turned to regard Shepard. The commander felt Jacob tense beside her and raise his weapon ever so slightly.

"You're human" Veetor said in amazement, as if he had only just realised that they were there "where did you hide?" he asked urgently, " how come they didn't find you?"

"Who didn't find us?" Miranda demanded, looking a Veetor with distaste.

"The monsters, the swarms," he paused for a second and Shepard could see that he was on the verge of becoming hysterical again, " they took everyone"

"Why didn't the colonists fight back, Veetor" Shepard asked gently, "what happened?"

"You don't know, you didn't see" he rambled in response, "But I see everything" he said turning back to the blank vid screens, he pressed a few buttons on the console and the screens sprang back to life.

"Looks like security footage" Miranda said, stating the obvious " he must have pieced it together manually"

Shepard tossed a withering look in Miranda's direction, before turning her attention back to the screens. She watched in silent horror as she saw strange aliens moving pods with what she assumed were the colonists into a large ship.

"What the hell is that?" Jacob asked suddenly, leaning forward a little to get a better view.

"My God" Miranda said in amazement, "I think it's a Collector"

Shepard nodded her agreement. Miranda was surprised that the Commander knew about the Collectors. She prided herself on her intellectual ability and it annoyed her no end when she realised that the Commander knew who they were.

"They usually work through intermediaries like slavers or hired mercenaries" Shepard said, "if they are involved with the Reapers it could explain what happened to the colonies" she fell silent as she watched two of the Collectors drag what looked like a human body across the concourse, " the Collectors have advanced technology, it's possible they have a weapon that disables entire settlements at once" she said thoughtfully as she watched the vids.

Miranda was silently impressed with the Commanders astuteness, she had not expected her to be so in tune with things around her, all her psych profiles pointed towards a hit now ask questions later mentality.

"The seeker swarms" Veetor said, pointing excitedly at the screen, "no one can hide" he said emphatically, "The seekers find you and freeze you. Then the monsters take you away."

"What happens next?" Shepard asked, never taking her eyes from the harrowing images on the screen.

"The monsters took the people onto the ship and then they left, the ship flew away" he told her, the hysteria creeping back into his voice, "But they'll be back for me. No one escapes"

Veetor put his hands on his helmeted head.

"No one escapes" he repeated frantically.

Shepard looked at Veetor sympathetically, she knew what it was like to have your world turned upside down on a very base level she could almost relate to what he was feeling.

"I think that is all we are going to get out of him, Commander" Jacob said softly.

"I appreciate what you told us" Shepard said kindly to Veetor, " you were very helpful"

"I studied them" Veetor suddenly said, "the swarms, recorded them with my omni-tool" he rambled, suddenly eager to please, "lots of readings" he assured, fiddling with his omni-tool, "Electro-magnetic. Dark energy" he rambled.

Miranda was ecstatic to hear this information.

"We need to get this data to the Illusive Man" she said decisively, "grab the Quarian and call the shuttle to pick us up" she ordered Shepard, turning her attention back to Veetor.

Shepard blinked at the order and was about to reply, when the door to the warehouse opened and Tali marched in.

"What?" she demanded angrily, looking from Shepard to Miranda and then back to Shepard," Veetor is injured he needs treatment not an interrogation" she exclaimed her attention still firmly fixed on Shepard.

"We won't hurt him." Jacob said kindly, as if he was speaking to a small child, "we just need to see if he know anything else. He'll be returned unharmed" he promised.

Tali bristled at Jacob's tone of voice and fixed all her attention on Shepard. Her friend.

_Or at least she was_, Tali thought to herself, unsure of the woman who stood in front of her, _she has changed_, Tali suddenly observed, _she is less sure of herself_, she decided, as she watched the indecision in friends, _she is lost_.

Tali looked over at Veetor and nodded reassuringly, one thing was for sure. Veetor was not going with Cerberus.

Miranda clearly seeing that Jacob's words had not had the desired effect, turned her attention to Tali/

"Your people betrayed us once before" she said sharply and too the point, "If we give him too you, we'll never get the intel we need" she said decisively.

Shepard looked from Jacob to Miranda and sighed.

Why was she here stuck in the middle of an argument between Tali, one of her closet friends and Cerberus, one of her most hated enemies?

"Prazza was an idiot" Tali said angrily to Miranda, " and he and his men paid for it" she turned her attention to Shepard, " You're welcome to take Veetor's omni-tool data" she offered, "but please" she pleaded, " let me take him," she pleaded.

Tali knew in a straight up fight she stood little chance, she had seen Shepard in action and was only to aware of what the Commander was capable of. A quick glance a Jacob and Miranda confirmed that they were also trained fighters.

Shepard frantically sought a resolution to the problem which she was faced, she could understand Miranda's point of view, but she highly doubted that Veetor would be returned unharmed as Jacob had promised.

"You don't have to take Veetor and go" she said slowly, desperately hoping that Tali would go for her idea, "We could work together" she said, "just like old times"

Tali looked at Shepard in amazement, only then in that moment, did she see how truly broken Shepard was. The tone in the Commanders voice wasn't one she could ever remember hearing before.

_She almost sounds desperate,_ Tali thought to herself. Tali allowed herself a few moments to consider how truly alone Shepard was in her current situation and then she steeled her heart for what she knew must be her answer.

"I'm still trying to accept that you are even alive" Tali looked at Shepard even though she knew the other woman couldn't see her expression. "and that you are with Cerberus" she paused for a second knowing the pain her words must be causing her friend, "I've got responsibilities now. I've got a mission of my own. I can't walk away from that" again she paused and looked at Shepard, "even for you" she finished gently.

Shepard was silent for a moment as she considered what Tali had just said. In her hearts of hearts she had always known that this was going to be the Quarian's answer. But it didn't make the pain and sorrow that she felt any less.

"He's traumatized and needs medical care" she finally said, turning to Miranda, "Tali will give us the omni tool data and take him to the Flotilla" she ordered, her voice not betraying the depth of pain she was currently feeling.

"Understood Commander" Miranda said snipply.

"Thank you, Shepard" Tali said gratefully, "I'm glad you are the one still giving orders" she said pointedly at Miranda.

Tali walked over to Veetor and placed a hand on his shoulder. The two began to slowly move towards, the door. Tali paused at the threshold and looked back at Shepard.

"Good luck out there, Shepard" she said sincerely, "If I find anything that can help you, I'll let you know" she promised.

Shepard just nodded as she watched Tali and Veetor walk away. Behind her she heard Jacob call for the shuttle to pick them up.

The trip back to the Normandy was silent, buy laden with promise. Miranda kept eyeing the Commander waiting for her to make eye contact with her so she could say her piece. For Shepard's part, she was silent and kept her eyes downcast, as she idly turned her pistol in her hand. Her mind a million miles away.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

It was late on Illium and Liara was tired. She looked in annoyance at her beeping omni tool and frowned. The message was coming in on her personal channel. The one which rarely, if ever got used. Only a handful of people throughout the galaxy had the encryption for it and they hardly ever called anymore.

Mainly because the person that held them together was gone. Without Shepard they had drifted apart.

Joker used to call regularly, whether through guilt or a genuine concern for her, but he stopped about a year back, Chakwas had resigned her commission, Garrus had drifted off on some grief driven walk about, the Asari had no idea where he was now. Although she hoped that he was doing well. Tali had went back to the Flotilla.

Liara never heard from Ashley, each had loved the Commander in their own way and to be around one another was too painful, even now.

The omni tool continued to chirp, irritated Liara put aside the report she was currently reading and activated the omni tool.

Instantly a holo image of Tali appeared.

"Tali" Liara said in surprise. She had not expected it to be the young Quarian on the other end.

"Dr T'Soni" Tali began hesitantly, clearly unsure of the reception she would receive when contacting the Asari, "please forgive the intrusion" she apologised.

If Tali had changed physically in anyway, Liara could not tell. But she was different, she stood a little taller, spoke a little more confidently.

_These are things Sulien instilled in her,_ Liara thought to herself, remembering her lover.

"It's okay Tali" she said kindly "and please it's Liara," she said with a smile, Tali always reverted back to titles when she was nervous, "what can I do for you?" she queried, as she rearranged her legs under the table.

"I've seen Shepard" Tali blurted out, "I've spoken to her"

If Liara was taken back by this news, she didn't show it.

"Really?" she asked softly.

_So the project was a success,_ she thought to herself, _why didn't Cerberus honour their side of the agreement and tell me when she woke up._

"Yes" Tali said excitedly, " she said Cerberus rebuilt her"

Liara nodded at this. But rather than Tali interpreting the gesture as one of knowing, she interpreted it as Liara's wish for her to continue.

Tali spent the next twenty minutes telling Liara about meeting Shepard on Freedom's Progress.

"I am worried about her, Liara" Tali said sadly, "she seems so lost and alone"

Liara's heart ached for the pain and confusion her lover was currently going through.

"She just seems so empty" Tali continued, completely oblivious to the pain the young Asari was feeling, "and that Miranda woman" Tali said vehemently with a shake of her head, "the old Shepard, would have put her in her place by now"

Liara nodded again, clearly remembering Shepard's particular methods of putting people in their place, it usually involved a shot gun.

"But now it's like she doesn't care" Tali said sadly. Her worry and empathy for her friend clear to hear in her voice.

She told Liara how Miranda wanted to take Veetor with them and how Shepard had all but begged her to stay and come with her.

"I wanted too, Liara" she said earnestly, "Keelah, I wanted to, but she was dead and now she is alive and is with Cerberus. For one desperate second I thought she was going to let them take Veetor" she exclaimed, "Did she ever die?" Tali asked, desperately, hoping her friend could give her the answers that she was looking for "was it all just a rouse?"

"Sulien would never have let Cerberus take Veetor" Liara replied, she knew this in her heart and soul, "and yes she was dead" Liara said answering the last part of Tali's question.

"How do you know" Tali demanded, "the Alliance never found her body"

Liara was silent for a few moments as she considered Tali's question. It was true the Alliance never found Shepard's body, they had not even expended very much energy looking for it.

She could just tell her old friend that she had felt the Commander die, thanks to the bond that they shared. But she couldn't bring herself to lie to the Quarian.

"I saw her body" Liara said simply, "I found it"

There was a stunned silence on the other end of the line as Tali realised what Liara was telling her.

"Keelah" she exclaimed, " you gave her body to Cerberus"

"In a manner of speaking" Liara confirmed with a nod.

"Why?" Tali demanded, "she hates Cerberus"

Liara was silent for another few minutes, while she gathered her thoughts.

"She was dead Tali" Liara said simply, "dead and gone"

Tali shook her head and was about to say something when Liara began to speak again.

"And I was alone" she continued as if speaking to herself, but there was no mistaking the shake in her voice.

"You were alone" Tali exclaimed, suddenly angry at Liara for what she had done, "you gave Cerberus Shepard's body, because you were alone"

"No" Liara said just as angrily, it did not take much to rouse her temper these days, "that is not the reason, I am not that childish"

"What was it then?" Tali demanded, still angry, clearly having difficulty understanding Liara's motivations.

"After the attack, I didn't believe that she was dead" she said slowly, "despite what Joker had said, I just couldn't believe or accept it"

Tali nodded, she too had went through a similar thing when Shepard had died. It was extremely hard for her to accept, she kept expecting it to be announced on a news feed that Shepard had been found alive and well.

"And when the Alliance didn't find her body, it just made it harder to accept" Tali guessed.

Liara nodded at this, glad that her friend was following her.

"So I decided to launch my own investigation" she told the Quarian engineer, " I loved her Tali," Liara explained,"I couldn't just walk away without knowing" she paused for a moment trying to figure out if Tali was surprised or not, "I spent a month searching for her."

"That was why you weren't at the memorial service on Earth" Tali surmised, remembering how shocked she had been by Liara's absence.

"I ended up on Omega" Liara said as she nodded to Tali, " in a club called Afterlife" she shivered at the memory, "it is an unsavoury place," she paused again, "although I suspect Sulien would love it"

Tali nodded her head in agreement, she had heard about Omega and the infamous Afterlife from other Quarians when they had returned from their pilgrimage, she also suspected that Liara was right when she said that Shepard would love it.

_At least the old Shepard would have, _she thought to herself.

"I met a Drell there named Feron" Liara continued, pulling Tali from her musings " he told me that Shepard was dead," she paused at the memory, remembering the crushing pain she had felt at those words, as all her worst fears were realised, "I demanded to see her body" she looked at Tali to see if she was still following her.

Tali nodded for Liara to continue.

"But we were attacked, by some Blue Sun mercs" she explained, "as if that wasn't bad enough, they were attacked by some Cerberus operatives" she paused again and sighed, "it was a massacre, both Feron and I were taken prisoner by Cerberus and I had the distinct pleasure of spending some time with the delightful Miranda Lawson and a rather unpleasant interview with The Illusive Man."

"What did they want with Shepard's body?" Tali asked, she suddenly understood what her friend had been doing when she had went to search for Shepard's body, she had been looking for closure.

"The Illusive Man told me that, the Shadow Broker was looking for Shepard's body and that he was working for the Collectors. He also told me that Feron was an agent of the Shadow Broker, who had been sent to collect Shepard's body" she paused for a moment, as she remembered those desperate few days, " He then said that he wanted Shepard's body, that one of his cells had developed a procedure that would bring her back" she looked at Tali and sighed, "bring her back Tali, back from the dead, back to me" again she sighed, "Feron was terrified, he knew what would happen to exposed agents of the Broker and what happened to agents who failed, he had done both"

She shook her head, "but I did not care, all I could think was that there was a chance that Shepard would be alive again, so I brokered a deal with the Illusive Man, I would determine why the Collectors wanted Shepard's body, if Cerberus brought Shepard back." she shook her head at her own stupidity, " I gave him exactly what he wanted, I gave him Shepard."

"What happened to Feron?" Tali asked softly.

"The Shadow Broker has him" Liara said simply, but the look in her eyes said so much more, "but I am looking for him and I will find him" she said with determination, "we became friends and without him I would never have found Shepard's body"

"I see" was all Tali said, she was not too sure about this new side to Liara, the one which promised hurt and pain, "so what are you going to do about Shepard?" Tali asked, changing the subject back to the original one, "she is back, just as you wanted." Tali pointed out.

"Cerberus was meant to tell me when Sulien woke up" Liara said sadly, "she hates waking up alone" she said softly.

Tali said nothing just waited for the Asari to continue.

"I do not know what to do" Liara eventually said, "I need to find Feron, I owe him that much" she said more to herself than to Tali, but the Quarian heard.

"Shepard needs you, Liara" she said emphatically, "you have not seen what she is like, she needs you," Tali repeated again, this time a little more desperately, "you need to go and give her back her strength and her fire" she told Liara, "or else Cerberus is going to swallow her up"

"I will think on it" Liara said softly.

"Liara," Tali said gently, "you do still love her, don't you?" she asked fearfully.

"I will love Sulien Shepard until my last breath and then probably beyond" she said hotly, more than a little annoyed that Tali could ask such a question, especially considering all that Liara had just told her.

"Very well Liara," Tali said in the same soft voice she had used before, "but I pray to all our gods that you make the right decision"

Liara nodded once and Tali cut the connection.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Liara sat for a few minutes, in an attempt to gather her thoughts and sort out her next move. She was torn between her need to see Shepard and the promise that she had made herself, to rescue Feron.

Several more minutes passed as she stared unseeingly at the blank screen in front of her . Then she sighed and quickly tapped in the contact number of the person to whom she wanted to speak.

Seconds later, she found herself staring at the face of Donnel Udina.

"Yes"he snapped, obviously annoyed that he had been interrupted, " What do you want?" he demanded upon seeing who it was.

"Good evening, Mr. Udina" she said politely, choosing to ignore Udina's attitude, "could you please direct my call through to the Councillor" she asked just as politely.

"What" Udina demanded, "you just can't ring up here and demand to speak to Councillor Anderson" he snapped, "you have to make an appointment" he said sneeringly, "and unfortunately the Councillor is booked out for the foreseeable future"

He was about to cut the connection, when Liara raised her hand in a placating manner.

"I understand, Mr. Udina" she assured him, " but should you fail to transfer my call at this point," she said to him in an even voice, "you run the danger of having your communications system over run" she paused and gave him an insincere smile, "I take it we understand one another?" she asked calmly.

"Are you threatening me" he barked, "I will not stand for such treatment" he flustered.

"Mr. Udina, I assure you," she said sweetly, "I am not threatening you" she said with another brief smile.

Udina gaped at her for a moment as his brain processed exactly what the Asari was saying to him.

"You can't do that" he complained, but she could see in his eyes that he wasn't so sure of himself as he had been a moment ago.

"Let's hope we don't have to find out" Liara replied calmly, as she glanced at something off screen and smiled again.

That was enough to break Udina's will.

"Very well" he said authoritatively, as he glanced down " Councillor Anderson has just had a cancellation in his appointments, I shall transfer you through"

"Thank you." Liara said sweetly, "it has, as always, been a pleasure to speak with you"

Seconds later Liara found herself speaking with David Anderson.

"Dr. T'Soni" he said in surprise, "how nice to see you"

"Likewise Councillor, I hope you are well?" Liara inquired warmly, she liked Anderson, he reminded her an awful lot of Shepard.

"I am, as well as can be expected" he said in exasperation, "considering that I am surrounded by double talking politicians" he complained and then he smiled, "I trust you are well?"

Liara smiled, Anderson's dislike of his fellow council members was legendary.

"Like yourself Councillor," she said with a small incline of her head, "I am as well as can be expected"

They were both silent for a moment as they considered exactly what both of them meant when they said, _as well as can be expected._

"What can I do for you, Liara?" Anderson eventually said, shaking himself from his daydreaming.

Liara was silent for a moment as she considered how best to approach, what was going to be a very difficult subject.

"Do you remember when Shepard was first pronounced dead?" she asked quietly.

Anderson nodded, he would never forget the shock he felt at hearing the news that his protégée had died. He never thought that he would live to see the day or that he would live in an universe where there was no Shepard. He knew Liara felt the same. They had never spoken about the relationship that had existed between the Commander and the Doctor, but that did not mean that Anderson did not know about it.

"I went looking for her body" Liara told him

Again Anderson just nodded, he had expected as much. He had been furious when the Alliance refused to mount a search for Shepard's remains, reasoning that they would have been destroyed during entry in the atmosphere of Alchera.

"I found it" she told him feeling her voice catch in her throat as she remembered the state Shepard's body had been in. She still had nightmares about the burnt husk that had once been her lover.

"What?" Anderson said in surprise.

"I found it" Liara repeated.

"Where is it?" he demanded, desperately trying to keep the anger out of his voice, "she deserves a proper burial, with full military honours"

"Cerberus have it" Liara told him.

"What?" he exploded, knocking over his seat as he surged to his feet in fury. Humanities greatest hero was in the hands of a terrorist organisation. It was a long time since he had felt such anger, after finding out about Shepard's death he thought that he would never feel anything again. But now as he looked down at his hands, he could see them shaking.

"You gave Shepard to Cerberus" he said suddenly glad that Liara was not in the room with him, "why the hell would you do that?" he demanded, "this is Sulien Shepard we are talking about here, she hated Cerberus" he all but yelled, "how could you desecrate her memory in such a fashion?" he accused.

Liara could barely keep her own emotions under control, she wanted to rage at the Councillor, she wanted to cry, but most of all she wanted him to understand. She waited until he stopped hurling accusations at her and she waited until she was sure her own voice was under control before she answered him.

"So that they could bring her back" she told him gently.

The disbelief was evident in his eyes.

"You can't believe that Liara" he said softly, "not even Shepard can come back from the dead" all the anger and fight had left him and he suddenly felt extremely sorry for the young Asari, "it's impossible"

"I spoke to Tali'Zorah Nar Rayya from the Quarian fleet about an hour ago" Liara said momentarily ignoring the Councillors questions, "do you remember Tali, Councillor?" she asked.

Anderson stared at her for a second, wondering if Liara had lost her grip on reality, if finally the grief of losing Shepard had caused her mind to snap. But he said nothing and waited for Liara to continue.

"The Quarian Engineer, yes" he said with a brief nod, despite all his concerns he was desperate for the Asari to continue.

"She was at Freedom's Progress" she told him, "one of her people went missing there and she had been sent to find him" she explained.

Anderson had heard about what had happened on Freedom's Progress, he had spent the better part of the day arguing with the Council in an attempt to get them to lend aid to the search for the missing human colonies. But to no avail.

"I heard about Freedom's Progress" he confirmed, "I was not aware that there had been a Quarian there, though" he said.

"Yes Veetor" Liara said absently, "Tali found him and brought him back" she said with a wave of her hand, "he requires a little medical attention, but she assures me that he is going to be fine"

Anderson nodded slowly, glad that the Quarian was going to be okay, but unsure what any of this had to do with their previous conversation.

"Cerberus was there as well" Liara continued, oblivious to the Councillor's confusion, "investigating the disappearance of human colonies" she said with a brief shrug.

Anderson frowned at this, he did not like the idea of a terrorist organisation being on a planet where so many of the colonists had disappeared. There was a certain school of thought that believed that Cerberus was behind the disappearances and a fair few that held this opinion were military brass.

Suddenly Liara stopped and looked at Anderson and for the first time since they began their conversation she could see that the Councillor was completely lost.

"Oh forgive me" she said suddenly blushing.

Anderson was instantly reminded of the young Asari scientist that he had met when he had visited Shepard on board the Normandy after the Battle of the Citadel.

"I went off on a tangent," she said apologetically,"the point of my ramblings, is that Shepard was with Cerberus and Tali spoke to her"

Anderson was stunned.

"Is she sure it's, Shepard?" he asked softly, refusing to get his hopes up, "That it's not a clone or God forbid, an AI" he wasn't sure that he could deal with Shepard being dead again.

Liara was silent for a moment as she considered Anderson's question.

"Tali was certain and I am almost a hundred percent certain" she told him confidently.

"How?" he asked the amazement at what he had just been told still clear in his voice.

Liara spent the next twenty minutes telling Councillor Anderson about her dealings with Cerberus, the Shadow Broker and about the Project which eventually became Project Lazarus.

He in turn told Liara about the belief that Cerberus was behind the abductions of the Human Colonies.

"It sounds like Shepard is in a very precarious position" Anderson surmised, he looked down at his hands and made a decision, "I will need conclusive proof that it is Shepard" he said slowly.

"I was thinking," she said quietly, "that you could ask her to come to the Council Chambers" she paused for a second, "if I know Shepard, and I do" she said firmly, "she is going to think that the Alliance has abandoned her" she paused again and looked at Anderson, " but she is, was" she corrected herself, "a Spectre, the Council will want to know that she is back"

Anderson nodded his agreement with this, he had been thinking along these lines himself. If Shepard was to come to the Citadel, then he would be able to get the proof that he needed.

"I will pressurize the Council into granting her back her Spectre status, if she is who you say she is" he promised, "but I won't be able to offer her any public support" he warned, "I cannot be seen to condone the actions of a terrorist group"

"I know," Liara said softly, "and I would not ask you to do that"

"I will tell Hackett, as well" he said with a sigh, imaging what the older Admiral was going to say, "but I will ask him to sit on the information, only distribute it on a need to know basis"

"Thank you" Liara said.

She was about to say her goodbyes when Anderson started speaking again.

"Will you go to her?" he asked kindly.

Liara was silent for a moment.

"I do not know," she said honestly, Anderson could hear the pain and longing in her voice, "I am conflicted" she confided, "I need to rescue Feron" she told him.

"Well, if you want my advice" he said with a smile, " and I am no expert on matters of the heart, but I think you should at least contact her and let her know that you are still there for her" he said awkwardly, suddenly realising the area that he had inadvertently strayed into.

"That is wise advice, Councillor" Liara said with a smile, "and one which I think I shall take."

They said their good byes and the screen went blank.


	6. Chapter 6

_Now folks, I know this story has been meandering a long at a snails pace, but there is a plan and dare I say a plot, so rest assured it will pick up._

Chapter 6

It was night cycle aboard the Normandy. But Commander Sulien Shepard could not sleep.

_One of the benefits of being asleep for the past two years_, she thought sardonically to herself.

But if she was entirely honest, she was afraid to sleep, afraid of what waited for her in the darkness. Instead she filled the hours sitting at her desk, pouring over archived news feeds of the last two years, desperately trying to fill in the gaps in her memory.

She read about her death and the destruction of the Normandy. She noted with interest how quickly the Alliance upgraded her status from MIA to KIA, it had only been a matter of days.

She read about the political changes that had occurred as a result of David Anderson being on the council, the galaxy now had to listen to humans, rather than dismissing them as a minor annoyance.

She watched vids of her memorial services on various different planets.

She watched Admiral Hackett give a stirring eulogy in her honour. Listened as he called her a hero and a saviour, the brightest and best that humanity had to offer, heard him condemn the senseless act of violence that had caused her untimely death. She listened to all this with a heaviness in her heart.

_Where are these people now_, she thought to herself, _now that I need them, where are my staunch supporters and well wishers._

She could feel herself growing angry at what she was seeing, hearing and reading. And she did not want to lose her temper for a second time today.

The first time had been terrifying enough.

It had been after the mission to Freedom's Progress. Miranda had asked to speak with her in her office. Shepard had agreed.

What had started out as a rational discussion on the delegation of duties aboard the ship, had rapidly descended into an argument about who should have command of the Normandy. From there it had degenerated into a shouting match concerning who should be running the mission as a whole. The meeting had only ended when Shepard had stood up and slammed her hands onto the surface of Miranda's desk, denting the metal and leaving imprints in the process. This had happened as a direct result of Miranda calling her out over her actions on Freedom's Progress.

The worse thing about the entire argument had been that Miranda was right. She had not been willing to make decisions on Freedom's Progress and had done so only when she had been pushed.

But the terror she felt when she looked down at the dented table and then at her own two, now shaking, hands was something that she had never experienced before. She looked at them for a moment, before turning her attention to Miranda.

"_What have you done?" she had whispered, looking back at her hands, "what have you done to me?" she demanded in a stronger voice, giving the Cerberus operative her full and undivided attention._

"_Rebuilt you" Miranda said, looking at the desk in awe._

_Yes she had read the reports, seen the statistical data, she knew what to expect, but to actually she tangible evidence in front of her, proof of Shepard's incredible strength, she was amazed. _

_She did not see the terror in Shepard's eyes. But Shepard saw the awe in hers._

"_Rebuilt me" Shepard softly repeated, dropping her hands to her side, so Miranda wouldn't see them trembling._

"_Yes" Miranda responded, not seeing what Shepard's problem was, "we added a few things though," she qualified, " just stuff that we couldn't replace" she said quickly, seeing the alarm in Shepard's eyes, "you heal faster now, thanks to the nanites in your blood stream, you have better endurance and" she said casting her eyes downwards again, "you are stronger, as a result of the rebuilding of your skeletal structure" _

_Shepard was silent for a few minutes as she processed this information._

"_You have turned me into Frankenstein" she said softly, before turning and walking out of the office._

Shaking her head at the unpleasant memory, Shepard stood up from her desk and stretched, feeling the vertebrae in her neck pop. She looked over at the bed and wondered if she should chance sleeping. She pondered upon the idea for a second or two before dismissing it, there was no way she could sleep. When she had tried earlier that night, she had woken up within an hour, her mind full of dark thoughts.

She decided instead that she was going to get some coffee. She got into the lift and headed towards the mess hall.

Moments later the lift opened at her destination. Purposefully she walked over to the cupboards near the food preparation area and began to randomly open them in her search for coffee. Finally she found some and almost smiled in triumph.

She spooned three spoons into a mug and boiled some water, while she was waiting for this she sat up on the counter top and closed her eyes.

"Penny for them, Commander" a cultured British voice said.

"Dr. Chakwas" Shepard said by way of greeting, "what are you doing here at this time of night?" she queried, opening her eyes and looking at the doctor.

"Oh you know" she said waving her hand dismissively, "this and that" she replied evasively.

In truth she had been on her way to her bunk, after spending the majority of her night writing reports, when she had seen the Commander sitting on the counter. She decided that she was going to spend sometime with her, even if the Commander didn't want it.

"This and that, eh?" Shepard questioned looking for further elaboration.

"Yes" the Doctor replied, smiling, "I did a lot of this" she said holding up a report folder in her right hand, "and not enough of that" she finished shaking a much lighter folder in her left hand.

Shepard shook her head and allowed herself a small smile. She jumped down off the counter and poured hot water into her mug. Giving the contents a quick stir she brought it to her lips and took a gulp. Immediately she grimaced and put the mug down, glaring at the contents.

Chakwas laughed a little at her face.

"You never could make a decent cup of coffee" Chakwas said still smiling a little as she took the offending mug from the Commander and poured the contents into the recycler.

"I couldn't?" Shepard said in surprise, "but I remember drinking this stuff all the time"

It was then that Chakwas realised that the Commander had no memory of this.

"Chief Williams used to make it for you" she told the Commander, "so that you wouldn't poison yourself or the rest of us" Chakwas added darkly, remembering the one time the Commander had made her a coffee.

"I don't remember that" Shepard said slowly.

Shepard was silent for a moment as she wondered what else she couldn't remember.

"You don't remember Williams making you coffee, or teaching Dr. T'Soni how to make it for you?" Chakwas asked gently.

Shepard shook her head slowly.

"There is so much I don't remember" she told the Doctor.

Chakwas was looking at the woman in front of her, remembering all the times she put her back together, remembering all the times she had thrown Shepard out of her med bay, weathered her temper tantrums when she had taken her off duty. The woman in front of her was so much more than just her commanding officer, she was her friend. Outside of her immediate family, of which there were sadly few, she knew this woman better than any other person alive,

_Well except maybe for one._

"Hang fire, Commander" Chakwas said, when she saw the other woman get ready to leave, "I have something a bit better than coffee" she said with a smirk.

Shepard looked at Chakwas for a moment.

"You mean alcohol" Shepard stated.

"Glad to see not all your brain cells are fried" Chakwas quipped as she disappeared back in to the med bay.

Moments later she emerged triumphantly brandishing a bottle Serrice Ice Brandy. She placed the bottle next to Shepard as she went in search of glasses.

Shepard picked up the bottle and examined it.

"Do I like this?" she asked the CMO

"You drank enough of it when you defeated Saren" Chakwas told her, "well after I released you from med bay that was" then she smiled at the Commander as she made her way over to the table, "but before I cleared you for duty"

The two sat at the mess table and Chakwas poured two healthy measures. Chakwas pushed some random buttons on her onmi-tool and sat back in her chair. Shepard looked at her curiously.

"Creates a privacy barrier" she told the Commander, "handy when you want to have a private doctor patient conversation" she said as she picked up her glass and held it up in salutation " or when you want to have a conversation away from prying eyes..and ears" she added, quirking her eyebrow towards the ceiling to indicate what she meant.

Shepard held up her own glass.

"Handy device to have" she observed, "I take it Cerberus don't know you have this"

"Not at all" Chakwas said with a shake of her head, "they will see us sitting here having a drink, but all they will get is feed back static" she shrugged, "I assume that they will think that there is something wrong with their bugs" she looked at the Commander and grinned, "it sends out some sort of EMP that damages them" she confided, "don't ask me anymore about it," she said seeing that Shepard was about to get technical, "I am a Doctor not an Engineer"

Shepard smiled and tentatively took a sip of the amber liquid and coughed when the fiery drink hit the back of her throat.

Chakwas laughed a little as she downed hers.

"Never thought I'd see the day when Ice Brandy was too much for the Great Commander Shepard to handle" she said still laughing.

"Hey" Shepard protested, "this is a new body you know" she quipped, "it has never had alcohol"

"Neither had your last one" Chakwas told her, "until you defeated Saren" she poured another measure into her glass and took a sip before placing it back on the table.

"I didn't drink?" she asked surprised.

"Not to my knowledge" Chakwas said, "at least I never saw you drinking and neither did the rest of the crew"

"Do you know why?" Shepard asked, but from the way Shepard was twirling her glass, Chakwas knew that the Commander knew the answer.

"You never told me" Chakwas said taking another sip, "but if I was a betting woman, I would say that it had something to do with your time on the streets"

Shepard nodded at this.

"It's strange" she said taking another sip of the liquid and nodding in appreciation at it, "I can remember all that , with glaring clarity" she told the Doctor, " but I can't remember things like Ash making me coffee, or drinking myself stupid after defeating Saren" she told her slowly, twirling the glass a little, "I don't remember the destruction of the Normandy" she told her softly, "not one bit of it" she took a sip of the brandy before placing her glass back down on the table, " the last thing I remember is talking to Liara about a trip we were planning to Thessia" she said with a small smile.

"Liara told me about that" Chakwas said as she watched Shepard, "that was the day before the Normandy was attacked. You were going crazy at the lack of activity and Liara was trying to think of something to distract you. So she asked if you would go to Thessia with her" Chakwas took another sip of her drink, "as for not remembering the small things about your life before, I wouldn't worry about that, they will come back" she told her kindly.

"Any idea why this is happening to me?" Shepard asked softly, "I mean is there something wrong with me?"

Chakwas considered her response for a few moments before replying.

"Your mind has been through a lot, Commander" she said kindly "and while your body is ready for action, your brain is having a hard time processing everything that has happened to it" she took another sip of her drink.

"Thought that was what you were going to say" she said wryly she was silent for a few minutes as she sipped her drink, "will the memories come back?"

"I suspect so" Chakwas said, "It will take time, I have no idea how much time" she said, anticipating Shepard's next question.

Shepard sighed and sat back in her chair.

"I feel bad, empty almost" she confided.

Chakwas nodded afraid to say anything in case the Commander stopped talking.

"I remember Liara" she told her, "I remember what we had" she said sadly.

"You didn't make your relationship with Dr. T'Soni public" Chakwas told her, "but I guessed and Williams knew," Chakwas thought for a second, "I think everyone knew after the Battle of the Citadel, well everyone on the Normandy anyway" she said with a grin.

"What do you mean?" Shepard asked curiously.

"It is not my story to tell, Shepard" she told her kindly, "I would never overstep those boundaries, Liara is a dear friend of mine" she took another sip of her drink, "and it is her story to tell"

"When I think of her now," Shepard said, "I don't feel anything," she told her, "I just feel hollow"

"Have you contacted her?" Chakwas asked.

"No" Shepard said with a shake of her head, "and she hasn't contacted me either"

"It will come back, Shepard," she promised, "just give yourself sometime"

They spent the next hour talking about past times and about people they had served with. Shepard told Chakwas a little about Mindor and living on the streets. Chakwas told Shepard about her father and mother, both had been civilian doctors, both had died during the first contact war.

Eventually Shepard had stood up a little unsteadily. Chakwas watched her bleary eyed.

"Come on Doc," she slurred, "let's get you to bed"

She pulled Chakwas to her feet and have dragged her back to the med bay. She lay the drunk Doctor on one of her own med beds and pulled a blanket over her.

"Sleep well" she mumbled as she lurched unsteadily out of the med bay and towards the lift.

She could already feel the effects of the alcohol beginning to wear off. She needed to grab a shower and change her clothes. The morning shift would be up soon, and it wouldn't be good for them to see their Commanding officer staggering around, smelling of alcohol.

Besides she had a vague recollection of Miranda saying that they would reach Omega today.


End file.
